Historic boatshed for sale – for $700,000

A historic boatshed sitting on Ngapipi Rd, Orakei, by the water’s edge is for sale with an asking price well above the nationwide average house price.

One of the seventeen heritage-protected boat sheds lining the water of Hobson Bay has a for sale sign with a price tag of $700,000.

This price is well above the nationwide average of $631,147 and the Home Start grant price cap of $650,000 for first home buyers in Auckland.

The No. 2 shed sits second along from the intersection with Tamaki Drive and has a short jetty that juts out onto the water.

It gives the impression of being quite spacious; but anyone hoping to turn it into a nice living space will be disappointed.

Auckland Council manager natural resources and specialist input, resource consents, Andrew Benson, said the sheds were for boats only.

“The resource consents for the sheds restrict their use to boat storage and maintenance of vessels, which is what the sheds were originally consented for and built for, and is consistent with their recognised heritage values.”

The person listing the boatshed for sale has been contacted for comment, but was unable to be reached today.

Without getting a glimpse inside it’s impossible to see what $700,000 is likely to get you and what, if any, extras the boatshed will come with.

However, for history buffs the price could be well worth paying for a piece of marine history.

According to Auckland Council documents the shed is one of 17 built by settlers in the bay in the early 1920s and 1930s.

“From the middle of the 1920s the Auckland Harbour Board started receiving applications for boatsheds on the seaward side of the sewer.

“However the first of these sheds was not built until 1930, following the development of rail and road connections linking the eastern bays with the city”.

Council documents said the cream and green colours of the picturesque sheds became the enforced standard design to help achieve a uniform look for the row of sheds.

These became a cultural heritage site, granting them protection, in 2008 and are seen as an example of a common building type from the 1930s.